Tuesday, June 30, 2015

First of all, let's all bid June a fond farewell! From many conversations with other parents this month, I think we all have come to the same consensus.....this is supposed to be summer VACATION right? I have yet to find a mom or dad to say their summer has yet to be anything close to relaxing. My good friend, Stef, told me of a friend who imposed no-activity summers. It was meant for them to travel and relax. Their time. Hmmmm....something to think about. Don't get me wrong, it's been good busy, but just crazy busy. Between therapies for Alaina, t-ball, track, vacation bible school and many other various things it was enough. I'll leave you with a couple pictures that show what our June did to the kiddos - and I'm guessing there have been tons of similar scenes in many vehicles this month. Am I right?? And summer is a 1/3 over. Oh my. Power on friends....power on.

This would be yesterday on the way home from Sioux Falls.

This would be today on the way home from Marshall. If anyone knows my sweet boy, he NEVER sleeps in the car. And typical Aubrey....

Along with kids activities, let us also bid adieu to an activity on the farm that I never had the pleasure of experiencing until I married the farmer and moved to southwest Minnesota.

Raise your hand if you know what's going on here!?

Rock picking. (Be honest - who just made a funny face and/or shuddered when they read that?? I don't blame you.) Yes.....walking/riding through fields and picking up rocks - just as the name implies. Growing up in north central Iowa, with their beautiful flat, black-dirt fields, rock picking was not something I had the pleasure of partaking in. Riding beans, yes. Rocking picking, no. Since many of my years here in SW MN were spent with tiny babies or our small legion of toddlers, this was the first year we all tried to pitch in with this glorious chore. Luckily, the father-in-law is a super trooper and still enjoys(??)helping. And we have the farmers sister and her family who are just clamoring to help too! (Is there a sarcasm font??) But that is the great thing about family and farming. They are willing to pitch in and help when needed - and we are grateful!

All this being said, we must mark the occasion of the kids first time "helping."

The future full-time rocking picking crew out for their first run!

And a few more of the how the day went - you draw your own conclusions.

Wesley was having a hard time staying awake at this point.

And this....this is just Aubrey. She blew that whistle every time we stopped for a rock-I'll let you imagine how fun that was. And this was her pile of "keepers" - her favorite part of the day!

All kidding aside, it is an important job around these parts. These rocks are not pebbles - we're talking some that have to be dug out with a skid loader, or even a backhoe in some cases! It is important to get the majority picked up and out of the field as they can cause some damage to our equipment if one gets hit. Our planter, tillage equipment or the bean head on the combine....all can cause costly repairs and also lost time during important seasons of the growing year. So it's kind of a sucky chore, but one that is important. I'm just glad this baby was on HIS side of the Ranger that morning. :)

Along with rock picking, June brought side dressing nitrogen on our corn acres, spraying all our corn and bean acres, cutting road ditches along with hauling many loads of grain to fill our contracts at local elevators. Along with many, many other farm activities.

And with our crops looking so nice, June also brought mowing. Lots and lots of mowing for me. If that's the price to pay for moisture and a great start to our crop, it's one I'm willing to pay!

Who out there has good rock picking stories or memories?? Or is just glad June is over? Up and onward to July!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

I'll be honest, I struggled to come up with a name for this blog. I have a little to share about farming, a little to share about food, a little to share about family (or a lot), a little to share about special needs/disabilities and probably many, many other "little" bits of something to share. So all those little things add up to our "bieg" picture! The "bieg" coming from our last name, Biegler. (Pronounced big-ler. Clever, huh??) I've thought about a blog for many years now, but just never had a ton of spare time on my hands! Not that I have any more free time now, but decided this is now the time to make it happen. I'm looking forward to learning something new and sharing about all our adventures and endeavors along the way!

My husband, Bryan, and I live in southwest Minnesota. Just outside of Lake Wilson to be exact. We have been married almost 8 years and have 3 children. Alaina is 6, Aubrey is 5 and Wesley is 3. They keep life interesting to say the least. On top of our family, we farm. We are fortunate to be able to farm Bryan's family farm, along with ground we rent, where we raise corn and soybeans.

The farmer and our 3 kidlets. :)

I was born and raised on my family's farm in north central Iowa. I enjoy my family, cooking and baking, running, and many various activities in the community.

We love farming, we love each other, we love adventure (maybe me more than my husband ;)), and we love sharing life with others! Hope you enjoy what we share, learn something you may not have known along the way about food and farming, and most importantly, hope we can make you smile lots! Thanks for being patient with the site too - I have LOTS to learn, so there may be lots of changes as we go! Thanks for joining us! I'll finish with a few pics of the kidlets with their dad yesterday in our corn field. Things look beautiful right now - we are blessed. Thanks for joining us!!